In the eight-plus years that the National Basketball League of Canada has been in existence, London and Halifax have become fast rivals.
The teams have squared off for half of the league championships. London has the edge having won three of those.
They found a way to come out on top in the latest regular-season meeting on Sunday afternoon as the Lightning used a strong second half to knock off the Hurricanes 112-97.
The victory guarantees London a victory in the three-game season series that the two clubs will play. The Lightning kicked off an Atlantic road trip on Jan. 21 when they won in Halifax by a nearly identical score of 112-101.
In another strange coincidence, London trailed by one point at halftime in that game and gained momentum through the final two quarters.
Mo Bolden was a force in both games. On Sunday Bolden had 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists to lead the way offensively for the Lightning. Bolden was London’s second-leading scorer the first time around.
A.J. Gaines put up a double-double for London with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Randy Phillips had a double-double coming off the bench. The Jackson, Miss., native scored 20 points and added 12 boards.
The Lightning won the game despite a lower shooting percentage than the Hurricanes from the field and from behind the three-point line.
Halifax guard Joel Kindred led all game scorers with 37 points.
Defensively, London limited highly-talented Antoine Mason to his fourth-lowest point total this season. Mason leads the NBL of Canada in points-per-game this year with 26.7.
There were nine lead changes in the first three quarters. The Lightning dominated the final quarter by outscoring Halifax 35-18.
London is now two games into a five-game homestand and they are 2-0. The Lightning remains perfect on their home floor with nine wins in nine games in 2019-20.
Next up is a game at home to the Sudbury Wolves on Thursday, February 13 at 7 p.m. The Lightning will meet old division rival St. John’s on Saturday, February 15 at Budweiser Gardens. The Edge now plays out of the Atlantic Division. That game will also tip-off at 7 p.m.
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